While touring together in April, Pat Sansone and The Zombies frontman Rod Argent got to talking about the British band's landmark 1968 LP, "Odessey and Oracle."

Virtually ignored upon its release, the album, which includes the enduring left-field smash, "Time of the Season," was later rediscovered by music fans, elevating it to a cherished artifact of the psychedelic era.

"(Argent) still seems happy and surprised that album has gotten a new life," Sansone recalled. "It had been forgotten for so long."

However, Sansone, a lifelong fan of The Zombies, wasn't the least bit surprised. The album, along with other pop masterworks of the '60s and '70s (The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," Love's "Forever Changes," among others), possess a "depth and strength and quality of creativity that's hard to fathom," Sansone said.

"Now, all those records and that style and that time is considered such a touchstone," he added. "Everyone draws so heavily from it."

Not the least of which is The Autumn Defense, Sansone's side project with fellow Wilco member John Stirratt. Their music is a swirl of gentle harmonies and rich, textured instrumentals that evoke the era of West Coast pop, baroque psych and the British Invasion, of which The Zombies, one of Sansone's heroes, was a part.

The Autumn Defense, which this year released its pithily titled fifth album, "Fifth," come to Newtown's Edmond Town Hall Theatre for a performance on Friday, June 6.

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Formed in the early aughts, right around the release of Wilco's third album, "Summer Teeth," The Autumn Defense is a way for Sirratt and Sansone to explore their mutual affection for the sharp studio production and sun-dappled melodies of '60s-era pop music. It's also an opportunity to get out from under the shadow of Wilco's looming presence.

"Wilco is a chance for us to dig in as instrumentalists and supporters for Jeff's (Tweedy) songwriting," Sansone, who is Wilco's utility player, said. "It's a great group of musicians to be a part of. We enjoy that role. But The Autumn Defense gives us a chance to sing our own songs and express ourselves in a more direct and personal way."

Though The Autumn Defense follows different musical traditions than the alt-country-driven Wilco, Sansone sees it all as part of "the same big musical picture."

"Wilco does have its harder, edgier stuff, but Wilco gets soft, too," he said. "Wilco has a wide dynamic range ... and the material from albums lean more toward the mellow end of that range."

The Autumn Defense is heavily indebted to their musical antecedents. But as Sansone explained, "We're not trying to ape any particular era." Rather, he said, "We're doing what comes naturally."

During their conversation in April, Argent was talking to Sansone about the inspiration for "Odessey and Oracle." The singer's words stuck with Sansone.

"He said something to the effect of, `We just wanted to make a record we really liked.' That's what we do," Sansone said. "When The Autumn Defense goes to make a record, our goal is to dig in as deep as we can and make a record we want to listen to and something we feel is real -- that comes from a place of pure inspiration."